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Dark Reign 2
Dark Reign 2 is a 3D real-time strategy PC game released on June 30, 2000 by Activision and Pandemic Studios. Being a prequel to the Dark Reign PC game, Dark Reign 2's storyline focuses on what has come before the conflict in the first Dark Reign. The game featured a Campaign Mode, online Multiplayer, and an Instant Action mode, as well as above-average graphics for its day. For a more in-depth view of Dark Reign 2's campaign and units, visit the affiliated Dark Reign 2 wiki, which covers all aspects of the game. Initial Response Fans of the original Dark Reign game were surprised by Dark Reign 2 and its different core gameplay mechanics (and the addition of a 3D engine). Low sales despite aggressive marketing show that it failed to live up to its predecessor. Indeed the original Dark Reign community has stayed true to the first installment in the series and still plays actively online using community funded servers. For more information visit http://www.darkreign.us. Story The two opposing factions introduced in Dark Reign 2 are the Sprawlers (which later evolve to be the Freedom Guard faction of Dark Reign) and the Jovian Detention Authority a.k.a. JDA (which evolve to be the Imperium faction). The two sides are caught up in a conflict spanning Earth's 26th (and final) century. Frequent seismic activity has indicated the instability of Earth, and Earth evacuation plans are being made. The struggle between the Sprawlers and JDA is, at its heart, the struggle between authority and freedom, government and proletariat. As the earth reeled into ecological collapse, the JDA established large dome cities to protect the citizenry from the harsh conditions outside. However, they left behind all those who would not succumb to their dictatorial will: the Sprawlers. The disenfranchised Sprawlers are now left in the outside world, bathed in the harsh conditions of a dying planet and fueled by the explosive rage of rebels fighting for a free life under the thumb of a cold overlord. So then, the Sprawlers desperately fight to break into the dome cities, while the JDA desperately sally out into the decaying 'Sprawl' to keep them out and in a state of submission. Campaign The Campaign is divided into two parts corrosponding to the two factions in the game: Sprawler and JDA. The story is set in motion by a wave of increased seismic activity which jars open the mysterious lab of Alpheus Togra, a similarly mysterious scientist. Both sides have the same basic and only acceptable objective: escape Earth by all means and all costs while killing the opposing side, leaving them behind to die in the dying planet. The earthquakes provide opportunities for both. The sprawlers take advantage of the earthquakes to force an entrance into the Dome, the main JDA base. The earthquakes also open an opportunity for the JDA in the form of the opening of the lab of Togra. In the JDA campaign, you are first ordered to find and search the lab of Togra in which lies a TechniFact (Techn'ological Art'ifact) which, when combined with two others, will create a portal for escaping Earth. The rest of the campaign is concerned with making dangerous sallies into Sprawler territory to find and retrieve the three TechniFacts. The Sprawler campaign at first shows interest in the lab of Togra, but since the Sprawlers don't have the resources to exploit the TechniFact discovery, the campaign quickly diverts to forcing an entrance into the dome and seizing the Togran portal, their only way of freedom. Multiplayer Multiplayer mode in Dark Reign 2 is where you will find the best players, maps, and modifications for the game. Up to 32 players can play at once, however they have to cooperate with each other as they only have 8 bases to start with. The standard maps that come with the game are almost never used. More commonly, user-made maps created using DR2's excellent map editor are used. Four 'rulesets' or modes of play are allowed: Gluttony, Protect HQ, Blood Bath, and Deathmatch. Blood Bath is a mode in which the first team to kill a certain number of units wins. Protect HQ (by far the most used) is a ruleset in which a player who loses his HQ for a certain period of time (about three minutes) loses. Gluttony is a condition where the first player to collect a certain amount of resources wins. Deathmatch is a ruleset in which a player who loses all of his units is defeated. Various maps with different rulesets built into them are included with the game and sometimes used such as 'fencepost', 'control freak', and 'king of the hill'. User-made maps with special objectives have also been made. Considering the age of the game, the multiplayer community is surprisingly active and alive. Players can easily be found playing most weekends and usually weekdays at night. Many clans have been created and are still active. DR2 also has its own section on clanwars. Instant Action Instant Action involves playing against up to 7 AI-controlled opponents with a multiplayer-like setup. The strategic AI upon the game's initial release was rather poor, but various patches since the game's initial release have improved it considerably. However, discrepancy between the skill level required to beat an AI and that required to beat a human on multiplayer is still massive. The stylistic differences in play between instant action and multiplayer are also totally different. In the end, most players have reported that they have to play at least three AI players set to hardest difficulty at once to get any kind of useful level of skill requirement. Clan Wars site gives a ranking of the highest scored players in skills. First is Uub, second is UNIVERSAL, and third are members of the All* clan. Screenshots Image:DR2Jungle.jpg Image:Dr2Screenshot.JPG Image:Dr2Screenshot3.JPG Image:Dr2Screenshot2.JPG External links *[http://www.pandemicstudios.com/archive.php#darkreign2 The Official Dark Reign 2 website] * * *The 06 clan site *Dr2 site by Mongoose *Homepage of the Mojo2go clan *Newest DR2 forum Category:2000 video games Category:Activision games Category:Video game sequels Category:Real-time tactics video games Category:Windows games